Made with Love

Sunday, March 8, 2009

I know I have been MIA from the blogging world, and I can't really say that that is going to change anytime soon. There will be random posts just to save some recipes that I am loving lately, but that will be about it. This is just something that I do not have time to keep up on. So thanks for following, and you never know, life may change soon and I may get some time back, in which case this blog will get a lot more love. Happy Spring everyone!

Monday, February 9, 2009

Yep, here I go on a muffin kick again. These little muffins were such a yummy bite-sized treat, something about tiny food makes it so much cuter and tastier. The recipe came out of my Totally Muffins Cookbook, which is like totally awesome! Enjoy!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease tins or line with paper cups.Heat milk to scalding. Pour over poppy seeds and set aside to coolIn a bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.In a large bowl cream butter and sugar until light. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add almond extract and cooled milk mixture.Fold in dry ingredients and almonds and stir just to blend.Divide mixture among muffin cups, bake 20 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

Notes:If you choose to make many muffins I crushed the almonds smaller and I only used 1/4 cup. I would also add a little more almond extract, but I really love the flavor. Also, next time I am going to try these with lemon extract and zest, to make a lemon poppy seed muffin.

These cookies were a hit at the office today, the perfect little afternoon pick me up! I followed the recipe exactly, and my only suggestion is to bake them no longer than 7 minutes. They go from undercooked to overcooked in the blink of an eye!

Friday, February 6, 2009

This recipe caught my eye on picky palate the other day, so I added a couple of items to the grocery list and cooked up a batch of this soup. It makes a HUGE pot, you may want to half it so you are not eating leftovers forever. I ended up freezing quite a few tupperwares for lunches later on down the road. It was a great soup though, and we will add it into our rotation. We served it in some sourdough breadbowls, which were the perfect accompaniment. If you are craving some delicious comfort food, give this soup recipe a shot!

These rice crispy treats were gone fast. And unfortunately, one was not enough. We brought them to a superbowl party and then to work the next day, and didn't have a singl one left. I wanted to make a 9x13, but when I saw how much butter that would include, I couldn't do it. (No one needs to explain to me that the butter ratio is the same in the 9x9, I get it, I still ate the same amount of butter, but it was just a principle thing to me!) That said, do no let the butter dismay you, these little gems are so worth it, you will love them! Also check out Nicole's blog for a ton more deliciious treats.

Lightly grease a 9×9-inch pan.In a large, microwave safe bowl, combine butter and marshmallows. Heat until butter is melted and marshmallows are soft. Stir to combine. Fold in rice cereal with a spatula, then pour mixture into prepared pan and press into an even layer. Allow to cool and set at room temperature.For the peanut butter layer, combine all filling ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. The consistency should be like frosting. If it is too crumbly (consistency may vary slightly by type of peanut butter used), add an additional tablespoon or two of milk until filling is spreadable. Spread onto cereal layer.For the chocolate topping, melt chocolate chips and butter in a small, microwave-safe bowl. Stir until smooth. Pour over peanut butter layer and, using an offset spatula or regular spatula, spread chocolate to cover entire surface. Let chocolate set up at room temperature before slicing.

These are super chocolately, but soo good. They were the perfect addition to our superbowl party, all the girls just kept saying how cute they were. I have seen this recipe pop up in a few blogs lately, but I originally saw it on Katie's. Check out her website for way better pictures! As soon as football season rolls around again whip up a batch of these, you are sure to impress quite a few people! As a side note, they were a bit too chocolately for me, next time I think I may try to make them more like a traditional rice crispy treat with marshmellows.

Directions:- Microwave chocolate, corn syrup and butter in large microwaveable bowl on high 2 1/2 min., stirring after 1 ½ min. -Blend in vanilla.-Add cereal, mix well.-Let cool 10 min and then shape into football shapes on parchment with moistened hands.-Let cool completely and use decorating gel to add lacings.-Let stand until gel is firm.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Or maybe you will be sorry, because you will eat them all by yourself and then have terrible guilt for the days to come. But they are worth it, they were so easy, and sooo good! I got these from Lauren who got them from Brooke, so thanks to both of you, these were gobbled up! I didn't use the coconut, but only because I forgot to mix it in, next time I will use it for sure.